Swimming, Bus Riding and Mother Goose
This was a week for firsts for the wee babe (and me).
First was swimming. I was nervous as I always am when I’m doing something new and out of my comfort zone. If you can believe it, I was nervous about what the heck to do with her once we exited the pool. Not the actual act of swimming and how she would do. I guess I just knew she would like it since she enjoys her bathes.
So we got all ready to go to the pool. Bathing suited – off we went. We arrived and I saw a woman who had a little boy who looked like he might be a starfish like my little swimmer. Sure enough she was and she told me that the class was really easy and that they were doing dunking today but that I’m sure I wouldn’t have to do that since this was our first day.
Let me back up. When signed up for the lessons, the babe was 3 months. They can’t go until they are 4 months and since we’ve got this trip planned, I wanted to make sure we got into some lessons before we left otherwise, I just didn’t want to have another swimmer who was afraid to get her face wet until she was like 8. So when she turned 4 months she had a cold and an eye thing going on and then the next week was my ingrown toenails and thus now we are at this week, and four and a half months old.
So I strip her down and me down and I grab the car seat (because they don’t fit in the lockers so what are you supposed to do with them?!?!?) and her and head off to the spot where they all gather for starfish. In the water we go (there was about 6 mom’s and dad’s) and we practice back floats, front floats, “jumping” off the side of the pool, splashing, singing, back kicks, front kicks and of course bubbles. The babe didn’t smile but she didn’t cry either. There was this grimace on her face like “What the heck is going on? I’m not sure about this.” We’ll have to see what next week brings.
The class ends and now I’m at the point of where I’m just not sure how it’s all going to go down. So I grab the car seat, her and head off into a family change room. We rinse off in the shower. I get her changed (she’s not really impressed plus I think she’s tired now.) then strap her into the car seat and then I get changed. Walla! I’m done in 15 minutes. Thanks for the tip Megan!
I walk to the car and by the time I get there she’s asleep. Pretty tuckered after all that swimming 
The next day we head off to Mother Goose. It’s a beautiful day so I decide I want to walk home from the Sidney Library (where Mother Goose is) so I need to catch the bus there. It’s 10.1 km’s by the way.
I get down to the bus stop and I start to get a bit anxious realizing I’ve never done this before. How do I store the stroller? Where do I get off on the bus? What if the babe starts to fuss? Breastfeeding on the bus? Didn’t someone get asked to leave because of that?
The bus pulls up and lowers itself so the stroller and I can get on. Walking on a moving bus with a stroller is no easy feat. We get to the area where the strollers can park and there’s already a stroller there. Also, the area where handicapped people can sit is taken as well. Hmmmmm… so I pull the stroller in perpendicular to the bus.
The bus driver pulls over. “You can’t block the aisle.” he says.
So I ask him how I should put the stroller.
“Not sure but you can’t block the aisle.”
I look at the lady who owns the stroller and she’s got her baby in her lap and her stroller is FULL of stuff. I’m panicking. “Should I get the next bus?” I ask him. No answer.
I look at my stroller and decide that I’ll have to collapse it even though I have tonnes of stuff in the bottom of it, I’ll have to pass my babe to some stranger to hold while I collapse it and the bus won’t start again until this is done.
Anxiety, panic, nervousness, everything that I was expecting to happen was happening.
Then someone suggests that we collapse the chairs in front so that we can park both strollers going horizontal. Success! Phewf! We did it and I didn’t need to catch another bus.
My nervousness subsides until I realize, how am I going to get the wee babe into the stroller without falling over. How am I going to get off the bus? What bus stop do I get off at…
Don’t worry, it all worked out in the end. 
And Mother Goose was a success as well, save for the puke fest that the wee babe had during it. Oh, and I walked all the way home in the wonderful sunshine.
